What Dreams May Come
by xmute S O U Lx
Summary: The fayth have gone and everyone is readjusting to life on Besaid Island....but something's off. When the fayth return and Yuna sends Rikku away for her own "safety," Rikku goes on her own quest for answers. R&R!
1. Introduction

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: Hey! Thanks for coming and reading my story! It's my first one on , and I've never written about this game before, either, so I just hope it's a good'n. Oh, and I don't own these characters; just the plot around them. Please, read and review!

**Introduction**

_Ieyui...._

_Nobomenu...._

_Renmiri...._

_Yojuyogo...._

_Hasatekanae...._

_Kutamae...._

Rikku hummed to herself quietly. The temple was too quiet without the hymn of the fayth blasting out her thoughts. Beside her, Wakka's jaw muscles twitched, pulled taut with irritation.

"Hey," he finally moaned, cracking his knuckles loudly, "do ya gotta do that? I thought you Al Bhed weren't religious, ya?"

Rikku turned her wide, green eyes upon her fellow guardian, who winced at the swirl of her pupils (a noted characteristic of Al Bhed). "So what if we're not?" she asked haughtily, her long, blonde bangs falling into her face. "Nobody follows Yevon anymore. The fayth disappeared with Sin--and when it came out that Yevon was the one who--"

"Sh!" commanded Lulu in her quiet, firm way. "She's coming out."

Suddenly, all eyes turned toward the door at the top of the stairs, the door that led to the Chamber of the Fayth. Though it lay useless and empty now, it had once been the place for summoners to go and pray to the martyrs of Sin for wisdom, help, and guidance. Yuna, Rikku's cousin and an ex-summoner, had been venturing into the Chamber of the Fayth at Besaid Temple every day for the last six months, looking for a sign of _him_.

Now, Yuna slowly came out of the chamber, looking at her guardians. Rikku followed her cousin's gaze to each face--tan, red-haired Wakka; tall, dark Lulu; fiercely leonine Kimahri Ronso. The young Al Bhed looked around frantically for the last of their number, seeming to remember too late that he wouldn't be there. When she looked back up at Yuna, she found that her eyes were locked firmly on her face.

"Yunie?" Rikku said gently, taking a delicate step toward the summoner. Yuna's eyes narrowed, though she remained silent. Her gaze stayed right on Rikku, even as she descended the stairs.

"Yuna!" Lulu called sharply. Yuna didn't look.

"Stop kidding around, ya?" Wakka said nervously. "Yuna!"

As Yuna approached Rikku, the Al Bhed could see that something was wrong. Her eyes, usually one green and one blue, were both a cloudy grey.

"Y-Yunie?" Rikku tremored, placing a shaking hand on the summoner's shoulder. At the touch, Yuna brought a knee hard into Rikku's stomach, pushing her onto the stairs with a great flash of light.

"THE FAYTH ARE RETURNING," the little girl boomed, her voice layered with several others. "BEWARE, FOR SPIRA KNOWS NOT WHAT COMETH."

Rikku slowly sat up, holding her head where it had crashed into the stone steps. There was another flash of white light, this one blinding, and when it subsided, Yuna lay unconscious on the floor. All the guardians rushed to her side, but Kimahri was the quickest. He picked her up like a father would his child.

Rikku equipped her white mage dress sphere, cradling her staff carefully in her fingers. "Curaga!" she cried, flourishing her staff and, in a flash of blue and green light, Yuna's eyes slowly opened, back to their original color. Before anyone could say a word, the ground seemed to rumble beneath their feet. Then, they heard it.

_Ieyui...._

"The hymn of the fayth," Wakka murmured incredulously.

_Nobomenu...._

"No way!" Rikku cried.

_Renmiri...._

"Tidus," Yuna whispered, catching Rikku's attention. Why was she mentioning him?

_Yojuyogo...._

"Hasatekanae," Kimahri sang along in his bass bravado, heavily accented with Ronso.

"Kutamae," everyone finished together, exchanging horrified glances as the fayth began to sing again.


	2. Make a Decision!

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: Ack! I don't own these characters!! Just the plot around them!! I hope you guys like this.... R&R, please!

**Chapter One - Make a Decision**

A week had passed since the incident at the temple. The guardians had spent a great deal of time talking about what their next move should be, staying up all night around the fire most nights. They'd found that Yuna no longer needed dress spheres to perform magic and she had already regained the confidence of Valefor, though it had (apparently) taken some convincing. Yuna admitted that her communication with the aeon was different than it had been before.

"He says he can't tell me why they've returned," the summoner had told her guardians three days previously. "He just says that Spira is in grave, grave danger."

Rikku sat at the top of the waterfalls, feeling the cool, fresh water spray on her long, slender legs. She gazed up at the sky, remembering the result of the long fireside talks between the guardians.

Wakka felt nervous. He'd spent all his time praying at the feet of Lord O'Halland and still hadn't made a decision. Kimahri just wanted to do what was best for Yuna, which Yuna said was to make another pilgrimage to Zanarkand. Lulu supported the idea but wasn't sure if she could handle Shinra's dress sphere system.

"I haven't fought in so long," the mage had sighed. "I'm sure I can learn, but Kimahri and Wakka will have to learn also...."

So during the day, Rikku had been teaching the others how to use the Garment Grid and gave Lulu her Guarding Light grid. Lulu and Kimahri had gotten accustomed to the dress spheres quickly, though Wakka still seemed hesitant, as though he didn't expect to need it.

Rikku was all for another pilgrimage, though she did worry a little. This time, there would be no Tidus to take the fall, and she didn't want to have to see her cousin go to the Farplane. But, as she had done the first time, she would back up Yuna in whatever she thought was right.

"Hey! Al Bhed girl!"

Rikku winced, crawling to the edge of the cliff and looking down. There stood Wakka, looking up at her.

"Whaddaya want, y'ole racist?" Rikku yelled back, shaking her fist.

"We're havin' a meeting," Wakka bellowed in return. "C'mon, ya? We're makin' a decision NOW!"

"Oh, goodie!" Rikku grinned, standing up. She fitted her flight goggles over her eyes and took a few steps back from the edge of the cliff. "WAHOO!" she yawped, leaping with a running start from the top of the sixty-foot waterfall. The Al Bhed flipped midair, landing cleanly on her feet beside a trembling Wakka.

"What if your father saw you doin' that, ya?" he questioned, frowning with disapproval as they began the short run back to the village.

"Are you kidding?" Rikku rejoined, pulling her goggles down around her neck. "Who do you think taught me how to do that?"

--===---====---=====---====---===--

When the pair arrived back at the village, the guardians had already gathered, and yuna was with them.

"Ready to go?" Lulu asked.

"Am I ever!" Rikku squealed with delight. "Wanna review the Garment Grid one more time?"

"Don't we just arrange the dress spheres on the grid and choose one before we fight?" Wakka asked.

"And don't forget that if you use all of the dress spheres on the grid in one battle, you can access your special dress sphere ," Rikku added.

"Alright, let's go!" Yuna cried. The group travelled the beaten path through the woods to the beach, fighting a few small-time fiends along the way. When they reached the shore at last, Wakka stretched with a yell.

"Ya don't realize how outta shape you are till the off-season's over," he groaned, cracking several joints at once.

And then, she saw it. Rikku gasped as her eyes ran over the familiar red fins and black engines of the airship _Ragnarok_, which lay on the North side of the beach. She turned around and looked helplessly at Yuna, who looked a little guilty.

"My dad?" Rikku cried in disbelief. As if on cue, the short, balding man appeared, his trademark grin cutting a white line across his well-tanned face.

"Rikku!" he yelled, clapping a broad, brown hand on his daughter's back. She winced.

"Hiya, pops," she said with no small amount of disdain. "What are you doing here?"

"Miss Yuna asked me to come and collect ya," Cid answered, shoving both hands deep in his pockets.

"But, I'm going on the pilgrimage with Yunie," Rikku protested, turning to her cousin with a hurt expression. "Aren't I?"

Yuna bit her lip, embarrassed. "I don't want you to get hurt," she whispered.

"What?!" Rikku took a step forward, incredulous. "But, when we fought Sin--"

"--When we fought Sin, we knew what we were up against," Yuna interrupted, blushing. "It was just accepted that no matter who you were, everyday could be your last. This--this is different."

"So you and Wakka and Lulu and Kimahri get to go and put your lives on the line while I do what?" inquired the Al Bhed girl.

"I was hoping you'd go with Uncle Cid," Yuna answered hopefully. "Go do some treasure-hunting work. You know--discover new places and machina, explore Spira, invent--"

"How can I do that when you're out there in harm's way?" Rikku shrieked. "And you!" She turned upon her fellows. "You all knew about this, didn't you?!"

"Rikku should do as Miss Yuna say," Kimahri drawled in his deep, slow, Ronso way. Rikku froze, staring up at him in awe. Kimahri rarely ever spoke, and when he did, it meant a lot.

"But...." Rikku had so many arguments welling up inside of her, but none of them seemed to be able to go past her trembling lips.

"Miss Yuna only looks out for Rikku," Kimahri continued. "Miss Yuna will be okay. Miss Yuna has Kimahri, and Lulu, and Wakka. Rikku should obey Miss Yuna."

Rikku felt chagrined as she looked up at the great Ronso before her. Of course, he was right. She sighed, unable to argue any longer. She went complacently to her father, who wrapped a burly arm around her.

"C'mon kiddo," he whispered into her hair. "Let's go Home."


	3. You Gotta Help Me

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: Hi, it's me! Sorry for the long pause between updates, but I've got a lot of chapters for you that I'll hopefully have posted by tomorrow night, and then my updates will become more regular, like once a week or so. Also, thank you for the reviews--please don't stop! :P Oh, and also, *I do not own these characters or ideas, just the plot!*

**Chapter Two - You Gotta Help Me**

Rikku couldn't believe it. Yuna had actually sent her away. How could she? Wasn't Rikku a good guardian? Didn't Yuna trust her?

"Come on, Rikku." It was Cid, standing in the doorway of her cabin on the Ragnarok. He crossed his arms, leaning against the machinized doorjamb. "Some of the kids out here have been dyin' to see ya."

"Well, I don't wanna see them." They'd be to Kilika by now, and Yuna would be talking to Ifrit….

"Gippal's here," Cid added, raising his eyebrows as he guaged his daughter's reaction. Slowly, the young Al Bhed raised her head.

"Gippal?" she repeated, as though not quite understanding. "Here? For me?"

"I'll go get him," Cid said with a wicked grin.

"No—_Vydran! Fyed—_" But he was already gone. Rikku stood up frantically, fitting her bracer over hre arm. She hadn't been out of the airship since it had landed at Home. Gippal? The one who'd always called her "Cid's girl?" What did _he_ want with her?

No more time to wonder. The door to Rikku's cabin slid open to allow Cid and another darker, taller man with spiky, white hair and dramatic clothing. It was Gippal. Rikku's hand curled into a fist as he approached.

"Hey!" Gippal cried, making Rikku flinch. "What's up, kiddo?"

"What do you want, Gippal?" Rikku growled, upper lip curled in disdain.

"Whoa!" Gippal put up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I just heard Cid's girl was back on the circuit and thought I'd come pay my respects."

"I'll leave you two to talk," Cid interjected suddenly, sliding out of the cabin surreptitiously. Both young people watched as the door slid shut behind the retreating Al Bhed leader.

"Lord Rin told me you were back," Gippal said first.

"I've only been back a couple days," Rikku sighed exasperatedly. "And what's it to you, anyhow?"

Suddenly, Gippal grabbed Rikku's hand. He held it with much more care than Rikku would have thought him capable of. "Rikku," he began firmly, "I need you to help me."

"_Help_ you?" Rikku pulled her hand away. "Whatever shady dealings you're in this time, Gippal, I want no part!"

"Rikku, listen!" Gippal persisted. The young Al Bhed did so, one finger on her Unerring Path garment grid for just in case he tried something funny. Gippal ran a black-gloved hand through his snow-white hair before continuing.

"I know the fayth are back," he murmured, trying not to be overheard. "Isaaru told me. And he and Dona are out collecting aeons again, too, though they don't know what's coming."

"That's no news to me," Rikku huffed. "Everyone knew they were having a hard time adjusting to the peaceful life. Just like Yu—" Rikku's voice broke off midsentence. She couldn't bear to think of her cousin.

"I know," Gippal said, eyes now frantic. Rikku had never seen fear in their violet depths before. "I think I know what's happening."

"What?!" Rikku cried, floored. "Well, what is it? We gotta tell Yunie and the others!"

"No!" Gippal shouted, and Rikku's frantic babbling ceased immediately. Awestruck, her swirled, green eyes searched Gippal's wild ones.

"Why not?" she asked in a tiny voice. Gippal sat down on her bright yellow bed, dropping his head into his hands. His voice trembled as he responded in a whisper.

"Because then they'll want to go after it," he said, his voice dark and hopeless. The change in the usually light-hearted and self-assured Gippal made Rikku's heart race. "They'll want to solve the problem. I can't do that to the summoners, Rikku. The fayth are hesitant to join them because they know it's not a problem they can solve."

"Then why'd they come back, Gipp?" Rikku demanded angrily. "Why'd they return if they knew they couldn't help?"

Gippal looked up at Rikku, truly haunted. "To give us peace."

---======---=====---====---===---====---=====---======---

After a while, Rikku got Gippal to calm down and tell her what was going on.

"I was treasure-hunting in Guadosalam," he began, sipping at a cup of strawberry soda (an Al Bhed classic and a favorite of Rikku's) that Rikku had given him. "My company had heard about the hotel owner there giving hints for some sweet treasure spheres, if you caught him on a good day. Since I was there, I thought I'd head over to the Farplane, visit some buddies I lost during the war.

"Well, I got there, and the weather inside the Farplane was gnarly—thunder, lighting, dark clouds, the whole bit. Only, since there wasn't a Guado standing outside to turn people away, I thought it was safe." Gippal stopped, staring off into space. "I thought it was _safe_."

Rikku, sitting beside him, looked on with concern. She scooted closer and patted him on the back, trying to comfort him. He seemed to jolt back to reality at her touch, pacified by the fact that the story was already past.

"Well," he continued, swallowing hard, "no sooner than I walked in than several of the fellas from my old unit were waiting for me, but something was off. First, I hadn't tried to remember them, and second, they stood _on_ the platform.

"Memories never go _on_ the platform," Gippal added, seeming relieved when Rikku nodded in knowing agreement. "Well...."

"Go on," Rikku urged, placing a supportive hand on Gippal's knee when it seemed like he couldn't go any further.

"They--they grabbed me," he told Rikku. "Their hands were real; I could feel them.... They growled; it didn't sound human.....and then, they....they...."

"What?" Rikku coaxed, trying to calm him down. "What did they do?"

"They started to--to absorb me," Gippal finished in a horrified whisper.

"Absorb you?" Rikku didn't understand. If Gippal was say what she thought.... "Gippal, did they--?"

"Yes," Gippal responded miserably. "They had the machina of Ber'kul."


	4. The Machina of Ber'kul

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, just the plot.*

**Chapter Three - The Machina of Ber'kul**

The Al Bhed have always been a people infatuated by the unknown. Alchemy, machina, unexplored lands--the Al Bhed are courageous and will try their hands at anything, not afraid to fail. Historically, this has caused trouble for the clan, guilty or innocent, especially against the Yevonites. But the true trouble for the Al Bhed began long before the Thousand Years' War, in the time of Yevon, himself.

About a thousand years ago (or a little more), when Zanarkand was at its height, the Al Bhed were respected rather than hated. It was recognized that their discoveries, inventions, and methods were responsible for the high quality of life in Spira at the time. Everything ran using machina, and people were used to seeing them around, as well as having new ones introduced.

In that time, the recognized Al Bhed leader was a man by the name of Lord Ber'kul. He was a great alchemist and cartographer then. Almost every map bore the Ber'kul insignia on the legend. Ber'kul was known as a kind, intelligent, and gracious leader, and it had been he who commissioned the secret construction of Home on Bikanel Island. It was only natural that, one day, his interests would turn to machina.

Ber'kul manufactured every kind of machina to be thought of at the time: domestic machina, industrial machina, military machina, transport machina--even entertainment machina.

Well, Ber'kul kept developing newer and better things, but it still wasn't enough for him. So, he decided he would try to make a machina for himself, one that could perform magic and alchemy. It took years, but finally, Ber'kul had the calculations to build a prototype.

Things went horribly wrong. The machina was meant to strap to the user's back and connect to their vitals using electrodes, which would then send impulses through the nervous system to cause the person to cast a spell, perhaps one they had never learned before. It also worked for alchemy.

But when the tester strapped the machina on, the thing went wild. Its electrodes slipped onto his temples and the man gave an inhuman shriek. It's said that he then went on a rampage around the lab, absorbing the lives of his co-workers.

In the end, it's said the man turned into a fiend and left Ber'kul's horrible creation behind. Feeling anguished by his failure, Ber'kul took his machina and disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.

---======---=====---====---===---====---=====---======---

"I'd always thought it was a legend," Rikku whispered, disbelieving. "I never thought it could be true."

By the time Rikku had found her voice again, Gippal had become reasonably calm. "I got a piece of it," he told her, pulling a dull, white pendant on a long, gold chain out from inside of his shirt. "It looks like plastic, but it's actually a ridiculously hard alloy. _And_," added the treasure hunter, leaning closer, "it regenerates."

"Ber'kul had to have forged the metal himself," Rikku murmured, hand on her chin as she reasoned. "Maybe he even used alchemy to mix several different ores. Or created his own!"

"So wait," Gippal said, pulling the shard of metal back into his hand. "Are you going to help me?"

Looking gravely back at her countryman, Rikku answered, "Al Bhed business stays with the Al Bhed."


	5. Trepidation

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, only the plot!* Thank you for the positive feedback! I hope you enjoy these next few...R&R please!

**Chapter Four: Trepidation**

"How'd you get away from it?" Rikku asked Gippal later that day, as they milled around in the bright, Bikanel sun. "I mean, the machina had you, but you got away."

Gippal kicked his toe in the sand, making a tiny molehill with his boot. "I just used a grenade," he admitted. "Grabbed a piece of the damn thing and looked up to see the metal reforming. I didn't stick around."

"Wow." Rikku smiled, looking up with her shaded-lens goggles at the clear, blue sky. A few birds fluttered by. Gippal suddenly threw his broadsword to the ground, kicking a nearby hovercraft. Rikku walked carefully to stand in front of him, placing a gentle hand on his neck.

"It's not your fault, Gipp," she said. "Whatever it is that we're dealing with—we'll get it. And then we'll go home."

Gippal looked down at Rikku for a long time. Then, his face softened at the edges, crumbling into a bashful smile as he placed his hand over Rikku's.

"Thanks, Princess," he answered. "We will."

Rikku paused for a long moment, squatting close to the ground. She basked in the heat coming from the sun and also emanating from the sand. She looked back up at Gippal, squinting to see in the bright, desert sun.

"Why'm I 'Princess' now?" she asked, drawing shapes in the sand with her fingers.

"What?" Gippal sat down beside Rikku. The Al Bhed didn't mind the sand.

"I used to be 'Cid's girl,'" Rikku mused. "Now I'm 'Princess.'" She used air quotes to accent her nicknames. "Why?"

"'Cid's girl' was just me teasing you," Gippal replied flippantly. "You really _are_ the princess."

"What?" Rikku rolled her eyes. "People just look to my dad for guidances. He's no king."

"He's close enough." Gippal got to his feet, looking toward Home. Its metal firing turrets were visible even a mile away. "People think of him that way." Grinning, he looked back at Rikku, his old, despicable self. "Does being a princess scare you?"

"No," Rikku huffed, standing up unsteadily. "I just don't want to be one. I want to be the same as everyone else."

Gippal laughed. "That's something you were never gonna be, Princess."

Rikku felt enraged by this response and was about to rejoin when a calm, deep voice stopped her.

_This isn't about you_, it said. Rikku froze. She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew whose voice that was. Gippal, however, hadn't seemed to have heard it. It had been imagined.

Leaning back on her heels, Rikku took a deep breath, letting it all out in a rush. "Thanks, Gipp," she murmured. Then, without another word, the Al Bhed princess loped gracefully back to the airship, her head spinning with the memory of the man whose voice was haunting her.


	6. Start at the Start

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, only the plot!*

**Chapter 5: Start at the Start**

That afternoon, Rikku and Gippal departed aboard Gippal's airship, Ceres. After some discussion, the pair had decided it would be best to return to the Farplane and investigate the place where the machina had first been sighted, even though Gippal was sure it hadn't stayed there.

Upon landing at the Moonflow, Rikku arranged the dress spheres in her grid (Unerring Path was the one she had chosen) so that she had both the theif and alchemist dress spheres. Gippal didn't complain; though he was more of a gunner, it seemed he was not anticipating a fight at Guadosalam. Rikku wasn't exactly in agreement with Gippal's _laissez-faire_ attitude toward the danger of Ber'kul's machina, but she used it to her advantage, knowing she could carry the fight in her special dress sphere if all else should fail.

When the two of them stepped off the shoopuff, the docking bay was utterly silent, though it was full of people. Rikku was highly unnerved by the look of it; so many people stood around, stunned into respectful, somewhat mournful quiet, awaiting their turn to ride the shoopuff. The Al Bhed princess carefully approached a woman and her toddler son, followed closely by an abnormally solemn Gippal.

"Look, mommy!" the boy cried, his bright eyes gleaming as they fell on Rikku. It heartened her to see the swirl of his pupils in his blue eyes. "_Ed'c_ Lady Rikku!"

The woman chastised her son, pulling him onto her lap before raising her own eyes. When she saw the Rikku did, indeed, stand before her, the woman's eyes widened. She stumbled to her feet, bowing hurriedly out of respect.

"_So myto…."_ She mumbled. "My lady!"

"What happened here?" Rikku asked, looking around with a curious look on her face.

"I don't know for sure, my lady," the woman answered, holding her son close to her chest. "My family has lived in Guadosalam for so long….but a tragedy has occurred there like we have not seen since the days of Sin, and we now must go."

"A tragedy?" asked Gippal, cuing the woman to elaborate.

"A…. A fiend," she stammered, like she was trying to remember, "or perhaps a machina….it stormed through the city….so many dead…. I daresay there is no one left alive in the city. We who survived all are fleeing."

"A machina?" Rikku repeated.

"It's Ber'kul's," Gippal vowed. "I'm sure of it."

"B-Ber'kul?" the woman spluttered, clutching at her son fearfully.

"Please, ma'am," Rikku begged, "for the sake of Spira as well as your people, tell no one what you have heard."

The woman nodded, sitting back down on the bench with her son. She looked helplessly up at Gippal. "You are chasing this monster?" she asked. When Gippal nodded, she sighed. "Take care of Lady Rikku."

Rikku was shocked by this response. Feeling partly mortified and partly enraged, the princess started up the road to Guadosalam without another word. Gippal followed, eying his partner with caution.

"She just holds you in high regard," he finally said. "She doesn't want you to be hurt. If that were to happen, on top of everything else…."

"Everyone thinks I'm weak!" Rikku interrupted, stopping at the mouth of the forest. "I'm just a weak, little princess who's of no help to anyone! Well, it's not true!"

"Rikku, no one said that—"

"Not directly, Gippal!" Rikku rejoined, cutting him off again. "Nobody has to! Yunie won't let me be a guardian and the general public thinks I'm just someone who needs protecting!" The young, hot-headed blonde turned toward the forest path. "But I'll show them. Gippal, if there's a fight, I want no help. Let's go!"

The pair sprinted up the forest path silently, and they cleared it without event. Gippal occasionally shot a concerned look at Rikku, but she ignored him. When she entered Guadosalam, however, all feelings of anger were immediately washed from Rikku and replaced by hollow sadness.

Bodies littered the streets. All the windows were dark, many broken. Without the usual noise and traffic of the city, it was eerie, silent, and reeked of death. Gippal bent to observe the dead, searching them carefully and with respect. Rikku was shocked at how many of her brethren lay lifeless and broken on the ground. It seemed almost a cosmic repayment for the folly of their ancestor.

"Aside from being dead and Al Bhed, there's nothing physical to show any ailment," Gippal called, his voice echoing on the cavernous city walls.

"No wounds?" Rikku yelled back. "Not even a mark?"

"No," Gippal answered, "but I think I found something else."

Rikku rushed to the upper level to where Gippal was standing, gazing disbelievingly out over the city. Rikku followed his line of sight and gasped, horrified.

"Th-They're all in the same position," she choked out, and it was true. Every body was spread-eagled on its back with the chest drawn upward. Every spine had arched and frozen that way, immortalized in its last moment of agony.

"Look; that's not all," Gippal growled, sketching something on a piece of paper. "If you plot the positions of all the bodies on a grid, it's left a message."

"Is it the next place it plans to go?" asked Rikku, stepping closer.

"No," Gippal answered through clenched teeth, truly angry. "It's a literal _note_ for _you_."

Rikku slowly took the sketch from Gippal and saw, horrified, the Al Bhed message scrawled messily there. It read, "_Vun dre bnehlacc, E ys caynrehk._"

"'For the princess, I am searching,'" Rikku read aloud, gulping. Looking up at Gippal, she said, "But it could mean any—"

"No, Rikku," Gippal whispered, sounding hollow. "Al Bhed business stays with the Al Bhed."

"Well, then," Rikku answered calmly after a pause, "let him find me."


	7. Lord Rin

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, only the plot!* I apologize for this being incomplete when it was posted a couple of days ago, but I asked my fiancé to do it for me without thinking to mention that the chapter wasn't finished yet. In any case, I hope you enjoy it and leave me lots of lovely reviews!

**Chapter 6 – Lord Rin**

"Rikku, this is ridiculous," Gippal cried, currently locked in the struggle of holding Rikku back from running off to advertise her whereabouts. "We don't know how to beat it and we don't know why it wants you. Shouldn't we do little research before we let you die in vain?"

"I have no plan of dying, Gippal," Rikku contested, struggling against his grip. "Now let me go!"

"At least come talk to your father with me first," Rikku's imprisoner begged, tightening his hold. "Or Lord Rin. Or both!"

Lord Rin: owner of Rin's travel agencies, rich philanthropist of Spira, and expert in Al Bhed history and legend. Rin was a close friend of Rikku's father. She could remember delighting in Rin's wild tales of Spiran history and mythology as a young girl. She'd never imagined that this, one of Lord Rin's most horrible tales would be true.

"Alright," the green-eyed princess agreed. "But I've already decided. We visit Lord Rin, and then I give myself up."

Gippal was so grateful that Rikku had agreed to come that he didn't even argue with her anymore. Giving her a light squeeze, he murmured, "Thanks, princess," and called for the Ceres to pick them up. Rikku blushed and straightened her goggles on her forehead.

"I'm not doing it for _you_," she harrumphed, but she said it so quietly that Gippal didn't seem to hear.

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Lord Rin was rather surprised when Gippal and Rikku made a beeline for him at his travel agency on Mi'ihen Highroad.

"Sir Gippal!" he declared in his deep, genteel voice. "Miss Rikku! What brings you here today? Have you an interest in purchasing my wares?"

"Not today, Rin," Rikku replied, the gravest of all expressions on her face.

"We need to speak with you," Gippal added, crossing his arms.

"I am always happy to assist my people," Rin answered jovially. "Rikku, you should know this best of all." Rin was, of course, referring to the times when he had lowered his prices to aid Rikku and the other guardians during their fight against Sin. "Come upstairs to my office, where we can speak more comfortably."

The dup followed Rin up a dark, narrow stairway that opened into a large, well-lit study. The walls were lined with shelves packed with books, written in several different languages. The only language Rikku was able to recognize was Al Bhed. Rin walked comfortable across the expansive office and sat down in a high-backed chaise behind the desk.

"Please, my friends, sit down," the lord entreated his guests. Gippal and Rikku did, each one taking a fluffy, overstuffed chair in front of Rin's desk. "Now," Rin said, folding his hands sagely, "how may I be of assistance?"

"What do you know of Ber'kul's machina?" Rikku asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

"The story makes a fine children's story," Rin mused. "One, I am sure, I have told both of you a number of times."

"Lord Rin, it is not just a story," Gippal interjected morosely.

"You must tell us all you have heard regarding this abomination," Rikku pressed. "The machina has already ravaged Guadosalam and could be headed anywhere next."

"The fayth have returned to Spira because they foresaw this happening," Gippal added. "However, they also seem to understand that they are powerless to stop it."

"But _we_ aren't," Rikku finished for him. "Not as long as _you_ tell us what you know."

"I see," Rin said, a grave face settling on his wizened visage. "Well, I suppose I can tell you what I know. Much of it, however, comes by whim and estimation. I do not know how much of it will be of valid use to you."

"Even false information is better than none at all," Gippal answered.

"Yeah," Rikku added. "It's already attacked so many people—most of whom were Al Bhed."

"Mostly Al Bhed victims, you say?" repeated Rin in surprise. "And it was first sighted in Guadosalam?"

"Well, no," Gippal replied, "I was it in the Farplane before the slaughter at Guadosalam."

"Intriguing," Rin muttered, moving to a shelf and plucking a heavy, aged book from it. Flipping to a page, the lord returned to the desk and read aloud.

"'Ber'kul, so torn, disappeared with his machina into the heart of Guadosalam. And where last he was seen, the Farplane sprouted, the memories of those taken more properly left by the perpetrator of that evil. So, there he remains, unable to be remembered and forever to live in infamy.'"

"So Ber'kul actually _made_ the Farplane?!" Rikku exclaimed.

"According to several Guado authors, yes," Rin affirmed, picking out another book. "Most authors wrote very fondly of Lord Ber'kul, in spite of his folly. I'd always taken everything to be mythology, but…."

"It's real, Rin," Gippal vowed, taking out the piece of the machina. "Don't doubt."

Rin's eyes lingered on Gippal's pendant for just a moment, but he did not inquire of it. "Yes," he continued. "Well. _Most_ authors wrote fondly of Ber'kul, except one. One who is slightly more contemporary than the others."

"'Sir Auron?!'" Rikku read incredulously, a lump forming in her throat as she recalled her ex-co-guardian. "How could he have….?"

"Sin transported Auron through time some years ago," Rin answered, turning pages calmly. "After Lord Braska defeated him, I believe. Apparently, he lived in the Zanarkand of a thousand years ago for about ten years, rubbing elbows with many of the most famous names in history."

"Including Ber'kul," Gippal finished, stone-faced.

"Exactly," Rin said, finally settling on a page. "And our fine friend apparently used his knowledge of both past and present Spira to form a few hypotheses."

"Auron wrote a prophecy?" asked Rikku quietly. Her eyes were focused firmly on her hands folded in her lap. This was all kind of hard to take in.

"That he did," Rin nodded, "and it says this:

"'Ber'kul is a great man with great intention, but intentions alone cannot stand. One day soon, he will overreach even _his_ great ability, and calamity shall befall his people. From this calamity shall arise a morbid hope, and a war already in the making will be cushioned.

"'But when that war ends, Ber'kul's folly will reawaken. A newly reconciled Spira shall fall to its clutches unless they who hold the key discover what has occurred and stand as one to oppose it. And meanwhile, He shall seek to separate them, seeking the princess, whose love most threatens it.'"

"....And?" Rikku prompted after a moment's quiet. "What else does it say?"

"I'm afraid it just becomes a frivolous satire of Blitzball at the time after that," Rin sighed, closing the book apologetically. "And it's all so cryptic before...."

"The princess," Gippal murmured pensively.

"Yes," Rin affirmed hopelessly. "And being that there is no Spiran princess, this is quite distressing. Who could he mean?"

"I think we have an idea, Lord Rin," answered Rikku with a grin. She stood and went to the door, pulling Gippal along with her. "Thank you!" Without further ado, the blonde pushed her companion out the door.

"So Auron wrote a prophecy," Gippal mused, once safely outside the travel agency.

"Did you know him?" Rikku asked, trying to sound nonchalant in spite of her racing heart.

"Personally? Nah." The white-haired treasure-hunter kicked a stone out of the road. "But who didn't know _of_ him? Braska's infamous guardian? The man who fell in the line of protecting summoner Yuna?"

_Did you fall?_ Rikku wondered, blushing. _Or was it all a dream....?_

"So, the piece of the prophecy!" exclaimed Gippal, clapping his hands together boisterously. "There's Ber'kul, and that's obvious. Then the 'calamity,' which must mean the machina."

"The 'morbid hope' that came from the machina must be the Farplane," Rikku added, perching herself atop the fence to the chocobo corral. "And it talks about the war against Sin....and foretells what's happening now, with the machina coming back and rampaging."

"Exactly!" cried Gippal. "But who are 'they who hold the key?'"

"And what _is_ the key?" Rikku inquired. Gippal shrugged, standing right in front of her.

"But one thing is for sure," he said. "_You're_ the princess."

No sooner than Gippal had said these words did the highroad become flooded with screams. Up the road, flashes of light could be seen, though whatever was causing them was still out of sight. The dup exchanged determined, knowing glances and grabbed chocobos from the corral, riding up the road toward the source of the pandemonium.


	8. First Encounter

**What Dreams May Come**

AU: *I do not own these characters or ideas, just the plot!*

**Chapter Seven: First Encounter**

The scene at the mouth of the highroad was pure chaos when our Al Bhed heroes arrived. Already, lifeless bodies were beginning to monopolize the area. Men were fleeing while women screamed and tried to get their children, paralyzed with fear, to run with them. Rikku watched with horror as the machina, great, white, and acting of its own accord, siphoned the life from one of her countrywomen. In a matter of several seconds, the woman lay dead on the ground, just like the men at Guadosalam, and the machina had moved on.

"Gippal," Rikku whispered, terrified. "Gippal, what do we do?"

The machina was rounding upon a Guado woman. A few feet away, an Al Bhed man suddenly began sprinting up the road. Instantly, like a cougar, the machina of Ber'kul jumped onto the Al Bhed man, taking his life and even positioning him so he would fall a certain way. Rikku felt nauseous seeing so many people senselessly killed before her very eyes. She couldn't just sit there. She had to _do_ something.

Acting suddenly and without thought, Rikku jumped down from her chocobo, grabbing her Thief dress sphere as she sprinted toward the rampaging machina. Gippal called out to her, but she ignored him. The machina seemed to become aware of Rikku when she was still about two hundred feet away. Its electrodes came rushing at her, but she weaved in and out of them expertly, her agility boosted by adrenaline. When she reached the machina, Rikku swiped at it with her twin daggers, raising a shower of sparks as metal clashes with metal. She was shocked when she saw that her attack didn't even make a scratch.

When she pulled back, Gippal stood beside her, fussing awkwardly with the Alchemist dress sphere. "What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted, looking bewildered.

"It's targeting Al Bhed!" Rikku screamed. "Hang on! I'm going to try using my steal ability!"

"Rikku, it's not a fiend!" Gippal shouted. "Even with the dress sphere, what is there to steal?!"

But Rikku had already run up to the monster, trusting in the instinct of her dress sphere to guide her to something helpful. Dodging in and out of the machina's flailing electrodes, Rikku let her fingers trace over the smooth, ice cold, metal body of Ber'kul's creation. Suddenly, she felt something protruding from the underbelly of the machina. Without a second thought, Rikku latched onto the protrusion and retreated, pulling the mysterious item along with her.

Standing back at Gippal's side, Rikku watched as the machina stood stock-still for a long moment. Then, giving a sudden shudder and a shriek like a thousand men in agony, the monstrous creation disappeared into the tall grass, leaving the highroad in shocked silence. Rikku slowly opened her hand down and looked down, finding an ornate, silver key resting on her palm.

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"It....It's the key!" Gippal proclaimed in a whisper, not wanting to be overheard. He and Rikku sat in a pub in Luca, still recovering from their first encounter with the machina of Ber'kul. "The key from the prophecy! But where'd you find it?"

"I don't know," Rikku admitted, taking a swallow of her guava juice. "It wasn't there at first, and then it just kinda....popped out into my hand."

"May I?" asked the white-haired Al Bhed, reaching across the table. Rikku obligingly held out the key for her partner to take. When his sun-browned fingers closed around it, the key glowed bright blue. Both intrepids cried out in surprise, dropping the key on the table between them.

"What....what did you _do_?" Rikku asked after a second of stunned silence.

"I didn't do anything!" Gippal swore. "What did _you_ do?"

"Neither of us did anything!" Rikku recanted, pulling her goggles down over her eyes. She looked bewilderedly across the table at Gippal, who looked back in much the same way. After a full minute of just string at each other, both reached out slowly and placed a finger on the key. Again, the key shone with a bright blue light. Tentatively, Rikku lifted her finger and watched as the light faded into nothingness, only to return immediately after Rikku replaced her finger. Gippal, in turn, removed his finger and saw the light fade.

"What does this mean, Gippal?" Rikku asked, voice trembling in fear. Gippal sat back in his chair, his eyes trained disbelievingly on the now-dull key on the table.

"I guess it means....that we're the key-holders from the prophecy," Gippal choked out, as thought his didn't want it to be true. Rikku was just about to formulate a response when another voice cut her off.

"Rikku!"

The girl turned at the sound of her name, her jaw dropping when she saw who stood there.

_"Yunie?!"_


End file.
